Settlement nears in Freedom Hill litigation; summer concerts in doubt

Hillside Productions Inc. and its owners could need to pony up about $1 million as soon as next week to get clear of the litigation surrounding Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights and reopen it.

Macomb County Deputy Executive Mark Deldin said Hillside co-owner Joseph Vicari and some new investors toured the shuttered concert venue, which Hillside leases from the county, last week to assess its condition and make the necessary preparations to reopen.

The tour came as a settlement neared in 2-year-old litigation over payments due to concert promoter Live Nation Worldwide Inc. and Macomb County. Hillside has said it would try to assemble a partial 2012 summer concert season for Freedom Hill, but Deldin said that is unlikely.

Hillside was sued in U.S. District Court in Detroit in April 2010 by Live Nation for money it said was owed for five concerts in 2009. Macomb County later joined the suit.

In February, Live Nation was awarded $321,959 by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood, who ruled the money needs to be paid when all the issues in the case are resolved.

Macomb requested a default judgment of more than $1 million owed from past parking fees and money paid to advertise at Freedom Hill, but ended up agreeing to settle for $500,000. The settlement agreement needs to be signed off on by all parties by Monday or, attorneys said, the lawsuit resumes and a trial is set for July 24.

Hillside will also continue to operate Freedom Hill under the terms of a previous lease and pay a minimum of $125,000 per year starting in 2013 out of parking fees, Deldin said, along with a percentage of future advertising revenue.

No concerts have been held at Freedom Hill since 2009, and Hillside announced it was suspending concerts shortly after the Live Nation lawsuit was filed.

The settlement calls for Hillside to pay for improvements to an electronic marquee at the entrance -- at an estimated cost of $100,000 -- but Deldin said there is no timetable for the project and that it is not a prerequisite to reopening.

Vicari, founder and CEO of Warren-based Andiamo Restaurant Group and co-owner of Hillside, confirmed the company has reached a settlement with Macomb County, but other details about the new theater operation are still developing. Gary Roncelli, chairman of Sterling Heights-based Roncelli Inc., was the other owner involved in the litigation.

"We are waiting on a last piece of the puzzle, involving the ownership and lining up a national promoter," Vicari said.

Vicari would not say whether that would involve renewing its licensing agreement with Live Nation or using another promoter. The company will hold a meeting on those details this week.

Hank Riberas, director of real estate and business development for Roncelli, has said new investors have acquired a recent stake in Hillside and will be part of the revived theater operation, but he would not identify them.

Kevin Cassidy, vice president and secretary of Fun Fest Productions Inc. and general manager of Freedom Hill, said Vicari continues as a co-owner of the concert management company but Roncelli does not. Neither Vicari nor Roncelli would comment on Roncelli's status with Hillside.

Deldin said despite the impending settlement, odds are long on even a limited summer concert season coming together this year.

"We knew it was going to be unrealistic to have a vibrant summer season here (this year)," he said. "Right now, we're not real hopeful that there's going to be a full or even a partial season. But that is not a condition of our agreement. And as long as they make their payment and comply with the lease terms, there is no minimum number of acts that are due us."

Cassidy also said no new information is available yet on the summer season.

Gerard Mantese, attorney for Scott Roncelli and president of Troy-based Mantese Honigman Rossman and Williamson PC, said Gary Roncelli may be close to an agreement with his brother Scott in negotiations on a separate lawsuit over the management of Roncelli Inc. that partly involves funds from a past Freedom Hill settlement. The Roncelli brothers' case awaits a settlement conference in Macomb County Circuit Court Thursday.